As promised here is the vanilla limoncello ice cream, so creamy I had to add it to the title. Did you shiver just a little? Is the idea of ice cream not appealing anymore now that spiced apples and pears invade your thoughts? Let me disagree here, and tell you that ice cream should be eaten year round, but lest we begin a gracious argument over food, I made chocolate cookies especially for you, with an ingredient that I’m afraid will never leave my kitchen again: brown butter.
That pound cake with figs ruined regular looking butter for me; I’m serious, you should’ve seen me brown a pound of it, and let it solidify again to use like regular butter, in everything.
I didn’t add it to the ice cream by a hair. Just kidding.
I didn’t add it to the ice cream by a hair. Just kidding.
This no-egg ice cream was long overdue since reading that this guy praised the chocolate one, a comment weighing more than a melon necklace in my kitchen since I consider his ice cream recipes to be one of the best. I had Jenni’s book in my hand a year and a half ago, while in DC, but put it down and bought another one instead, or should we say many others, because I never come back with less than five or six new cookbooks, except for the time when I brought home a dozen, and that was just in my carry-on. Well, cookbook issues aside, this is a splendid ice cream indeed, just like the title of the book promises.
Oh, and I finally bought it last week.
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I was torn between the salted caramel recipe and using the vanilla limoncello and creating an ice cream that would remind me of sgroppino, the coolest way I know to drink vodka and eat ice cream at the same time, and hands down, one of the easiest ways to get me wasted.
In this case I failed to achieve that – it needs way more vodka, no vanilla and probably a few tries with a recipe, but rest assured that this coming summer, if there’s a lemon it will be made into sgroppino ice cream – but I got a lemon variation so subtle and sweet, it’s a good thing the booze is not pronounced, because I tend to grab a spoon every day and eat some. It’s no surprise it’s more lemons and cream than limoncello, because as I told you in my last post, the vanilla bean mellowed the liquor out, a characteristic that comes through in the final ice cream.
Growing up my favorite ice cream was the lemon chocolate ‘pine tree’, which meant a water-based lemon ice cream drowned in melted chocolate, so when it hardened it resembled a pine tree. Just like this one. It was the ultimate way to eat ice cream back then.
The cookies are a chocolate tart dough made into cookies, similar to shortbread, crunchy and chocolaty, with a hard to point aftertaste of smoky vanilla flavored chocolate. Use it for tarts, it’s sensational. It was my first idea, because it is, after all, a chocolate tart dough, but then I just wanted to try it as is, to see if the brown butter was worth it. What?
Crazy, I know. When is brown butter not worth it?
Crazy, I know. When is brown butter not worth it?
barely adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream, by Jeni Breton
Brown butter chocolate tart dough cookies
This dough is very crumbly, much like scone dough, but it should come together. When rolling it and cutting the cookies, do so in batches if necessary.
Course:
Dessert, Snack
Servings: 30 cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter browned and refrigerated until solid again
- ½ cup + 1 Tbs confectioners’ sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons to ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder depending on how bitter you like it
Instructions
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In the bowl of a food processor, blend butter pieces, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until just mixed.
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Add flour and cocoa and blend until it starts to come together. Don’t over mix.
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Form into a disk, transfer to a plastic bag, and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
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Preheat oven to 350ºF
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On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to ¼ inch thick and cut with a cookie cutter of your choice.
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Transfer to a baking pan and bake for 15 minutes, until dry. Cool completely on wire rack and store in an airtight container.
from The Last Course, by Claudia Fleming
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Today’s 5 related recipes worth looking at:
Triple Caramel Pecan Rolo Ice Cream from Chocolate Moosey
Crema di Limoncello from Simply Recipes
Coconut Limoncello Cupcakes from Bakers Royale
Brown Butter Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Picky Palate
Brown Butter Chocolate Oatmeal Bars from Cooking Canuck
What a delicious combo 🙂 Perfect!
What a feast for my eyes! I wouldn't be able to choose between those two..so I would grab both 😀
I'd have to combine the two and make an ice cream sandwich cookie treat. Oh yum Paula! And brown butter is the bomb for sure.
That was exactly my first thought, but it would imply another set of pictures, and it was late, and bla bla…
Ooh, it never occurred to me to brown that much at once and then just keep it in the refrigerator! You are so smart! And your ice cream and cookies are beautiful!
Yes to what Renee said above! These need to be made into ice cream sandwiches.
Wow – a "twofer!" I love both these recipes and have had Jeni's book for months now and haven not tried a single recipe! What is wrong with me? And I love chocolate shortbread. A bakery in Maine used to make Cocoa Hearts – a favorite of mine. These look very similar – and I will be making them. Thanks for another perfect Paula post! ~ David
Paula, a very lovely looking dessert here – who could resist these cookies or your wonderful ice cream – no one. And, yes, I totally agree with you, ice cream should be enjoyed year round!
Oh my goodness! As a lover of all things lemon I'm smitten with this fantastic ice cream! I adore Jeni's ice cream formula/recipe and had a serious addiction to the salted caramel last summer….
Just a magnificent post Paula from the fab dessert recipes to the magical photos!
Totally luscious and yummy! I have to bake a batch of chocolate tart cookies for myself SOON!
You had me at Limoncello ice cream….so yummy! I am so excited I will have to come back to fully appreciate the biscuits..haha. Oh I never for a minute considered that ice cream couldn't be eaten all year round 🙂
I did shiver a bit when I saw that ice cream! I'd love to see little Limoncello ice cream sandwiches with those cookies.
Ice cream should definitely be eaten year round, especially if it looks this good.
Sorry. i just skipped right over and went to the cookie. I'm, in general, a cookie girl. And this cookie looks good. Way good enough to go with that ice cream!
Several key points: The most important one is that great minds think alike!
1. Ice cream in my world is a perennial dessert.
2. I too have Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream and am glad the great DL's stamp of approval is on the cookbook.
3. An ice cream using the aforementioned cookbook and liquor were just made in the Ninja Baker's kitchen.
Seriously, Paula, scrumptious looking photos and undoubtedly as tasty as described =)
Me gustan los helados que son ácidos, el de maracuyá y el de limón son sin duda mis favoritos…y vamos, creo que el que tengan vodka los debe hacer más ricos aún.
Las galletas te salieron perfectas, me encanta cuando uno las puede apilar y parecen como monedas.
Oh what a beautiful dessert! I would never have thought of putting these two gorgeous flavors together – genius!
mary x
Brown butter is very fragrant and delicious! love the ice-cream a lot and those cookies are awesome too!
paula, i love those blue cups you've served your ice cream in. i am terrible and usually it ice cream straight from the carton 🙁 you're much chic-er – i'm inspired!
I'm not a big fan of limoncello to drink but, as with a lot of alcohol, I do love it in desserts. This sounds so good, especially with those brown butter cookies!
Oh yum, and what a combo! I agree with Renee – looks like a great combo for tiny ice cream sandwiches.
these are the kind of cookies I love breaking my paleo eating for.
no problem!
it sounds delish!
Paula, there are so many wonderful things going on in this post, I don't know where to start! First of all, your photos are like art. I want to enlarge all of these and plaster them all over my wall so that I can drool all the time. Fabulous idea on making the tart dough into cookies. I wish I could buy as many cook books as my heart desires! One day I'll own a house and just devote an entire room to them. Sigh…this post was just what I needed today after a long stressful work day. Reading your lovely, witty words and admiring the incredible things you make recharges my soul.
Hi,
I just mixed up the Brown Butter Cookie and the dough was real dry….ended up using all of one egg and the yolk from a second….should I panic now? The dough is in the fridge and I will roll them out later…has the consistency of clay right now….
Don't panic! It's a crumbly dough, and that makes for crunchy cookies. Did the dough come together before you put it in the fridge? It should. When you're ready to roll it, fold it over itself a couple of times until it's malleable. But it IS a crumbly dough, you'll probably end up rolling it in batches. Let me know how it goes, please!
can the ice cream base be kept in the fridge overnight before being churned?
Hi Anisha! Yes you can keep it in the fridge. I find it's more convenient when I'm not churning the ice cream right away.